


Silence of Nothing

by IcyPheonix



Series: Gyze!Chrono AU [3]
Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Gyze!Chrono, M/M, Possession, light KazuChrono near the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-03-29 20:04:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13934316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcyPheonix/pseuds/IcyPheonix
Summary: Chrono is captured, Ibuki has fallen, and the Apostles are at their strongest.Gyze's resurrection is all but imminent.Part 3 in my Gyze!Chrono AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the final part, but unlike the others this is going to be about 3 or 4 chapters long.
> 
> If canon won't give me Gyze!Chrono I'll write it myself. Also I'm probably playing a bit fast and loose with lore. I really don't care. And canon b/c a fair amount of this was written/planned before some of the more recent episodes happened.

_I’m such a failure._

_I’ve failed them all._

_Chrono Dran, Ibuki, everyone…_

_I’m sorry._

 

Mamoru laced his fingers together as Chris’ image vanished from the screen with the latest report. A report that brought no sign of Chrono or Ibuki, and an increased activity on the part of the Apostles.

A shudder ran down his spine and he closed his eyes, it seemed like everything was falling apart around them.

First Chrono had been taken, chosen as a vessel for Gyze. Their rescue mission had been a failure and he hadn’t been seen since. And then as if things couldn’t get any worse, Ibuki was gone, missing without a trace on his way home from work.

They’d searched high and low but found no trace of him except for his cell phone, discarded on the ground in the middle of the sidewalk.

It was concerning, they were down by two and the Apostles were becoming more active, but for what reason? Were they that close to resurrecting Gyze?

‘ _Oh Ibuki, where are you?_ ’

 

To say Relics had been destroyed would only be partly true. After the siege upon it to take back the captives, it had been shattered to pieces and its energy spread thin. But it was not as destroyed as they would have liked.

With the earth base raided the Apostles had relocated to the one place they couldn’t be reached, the fragmented remains of Relics, slowly being pulled back together.

“Why is he not awake? Is he not the vessel for our Gyze-sama?” Darkface flailed his hands around in a flustered panic as he paced around, his feet scuffing over the stone floor the only sound to be heard in the silence.

Despite the apparent success in bringing Gyze into Chrono’s body, his prone form lay on what could only be described as an alter, hands folded across his stomach and looking as if he were merely sleeping, if someone had slept for several days.

“Darkface…” He shirked back at Gredora’s warning tone, twiddling with his fingers.

“The ritual will not be complete until the Zeroth dragons have been awakened,” said Gastille. “All of them.” There were a series of grumbles and mumbles as a card appeared between Gastille’s fingers. “We still need to find someone who can summon forth Ultima, or else we will never be able to revive Gyze-sama.”

A few eyes turned towards Chaos Breaker.

“What? It’s not my fault he was able to resist a Diffride, or that Kouji turned up. At least I’ve actually tried, that’s more than I can say for the lot of you.”

“Now, now, let us not argue,” said Gastille, “Let’s not fight. We will find someone to summon forth Ultima. And when that happens Gyze-sama will awaken.” He looked at the shimmering white dragon depicted on the card, “I wonder, who will be the vanguard to bring you into the world?”

 

_Chrono shut his eyes long thick shadows wound slowly around him, their touch almost tender and gentle as they held him. Not that he could see anything if he opened his eyes, there was nothing to see but darkness around him, a thick impenetrable darkness that was the shadows of Gyze. He didn’t even bother trying to move, the shadows moving around him, brushing over his skin and holding his arms to his side._

_“Why me?” he asked._

_“You are the link between two worlds, the Gear Chronicle Singularity.” Gyze’s voice rumbled in his mind. “Your soul is strong, I need a strong soul.”_

_Something brushed alongside Chrono’s cheek and he shuddered._

_“Together, we will bring the world to its knees and create a new one in the ruins and ashes.”_

 

Fear, if you asked Shouma Shinonome if he ever felt it he would have to tell you no. Fear comes from the unknown, and nothing was ever unknown to him, the world was too easy to read and therefore predict.

But occasionally, things happened that he didn’t see coming, such as the piece of paper found wedged in his door one morning.

He frowned as he took the paper out and unfolded it, revealing a note inside.

 

_Come out to the old playground tonight._

_Bring your deck._

_Come alone_.

 

He sighed, there was no name and the writing was unfamiliar, but it seemed like someone wanted to challenge him to a card fight. It certainly wasn’t the first time he’d gotten notes like that.

But something about it intrigued him, made him want to know who had left the note and why they wanted to meet him in such a place. The playground in question was one that had been long since abandoned, falling into disrepair. So why of all places did they want to meet there?

Curiosity peaked, he decided to go, it was a welcome distraction from all the monotony that had been plaguing him as of late. Perhaps it could prove interesting after all. And if it did turn out to be just another amateur cardfighter challenging him, well at least the night wouldn’t be too boring.

So that was how Shouma Shinonome found himself, with his deck, out at an abandoned child’s playground at 9:30 at night, waiting for someone to show up.

He looked at his watch again, if they didn’t show up soon he was going to leave, the atmosphere of the place was, chilling and he was slowly losing interest in finding out who had called him out there.

“Looks like he actually showed up. Guess you were right after all.”

The voice that came from the darkness behind him sent the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end and he whipped around only to see a kid. At least it looked like a kid, one probably no more than 13 years old, and yet something in the deep recesses of his mind screamed at him to leave. But that was quickly forgotten when he caught sight of the second figure a few steps behind the boy, and presumably who he was speaking to. Sousuke Wakamizu.

“Really, hanging out with children in dark parks now are you Wakamizu?” he asked, adjusting his glasses with one hand. “I assume you’re behind this then?” Shouma held up the note.

As they neared him he couldn’t help but notice that Wakamizu was dressed very differently from the last time they’d seen each other.

Gone was his near floor length black coat, replaced with a leather jacket, open to reveal a red shirt and a mask over his nose and mouth. His hair was no longer tied back either and most curiously were the gloves he worse, which looked strikingly similar to the one being worn by the kid with him.

And there it was again, the feeling in the back of his mind that something was very, very wrong.

“Actually that would be me,” said the kid with a half shrug. “We thought his hand writing might be to recognizable to you. But you actually came, that makes things easier for us.”

“Us?”

With a smirk the boy strode forward, slipping the glove off his hand to reveal a glowing Link Joker clan symbol.

“Now don’t struggle and this’ll be nice and easy. We need your body, human.”

Before Shouma could even move a rippling red light poured out from behind the boy and it seemed as if the air around him tore away, revealing a black, star filled void. No, it wasn’t a void, but outer space, with earth behind him and another earth-like planet before him.

“What are you doing?” he asked, trying to mask the unease in him. This was impossible to explain, impossible to have predicted. Shouma Shinonome was afraid.

“Calling forth your other soul.”

“My other soul?”

The boy’s grin widened into something unsettling as he spread his arms. “Come! By the guidance of my master, to the vessel of your other self. Different World Ride!”

Without warning Shouma’s deck flew from its resting place and into the air, the cards scattering about until a single one rose out among the rest.

“Come forth, Mythic Beast, Fenrir!”

His eyes widened as a blue light enveloped the card and the next thing he knew his arm was moving as if pulled by an unseen force.

‘ _What’s happening? My other self, what is he talking about?_ ’ He clenched his teeth as he made a grab for his arm, trying to pull it back. An arc of pale blue light leapt from the card, striking the middle of his hand, burning like a flame.

Then another sensation overwhelmed him, the feeling of someone else there with him. An unintelligible voice whispering in his ear and the sensation of something, holding him, restricting his movements as the burning feeling travelled up his arm.

For a moment he saw a blurry shape of something before him, a tall humanoid shape with a thick tail and slender pointed ears.

Shouma opened his mouth to try to speak; only for a strangled cry to come out instead as the world fell to white around him.

Chaos Breaker tilted his head to one side, watching as the man had fell to his knees, panting heavily and shaking as he held his hand with one hand, glasses on the ground beside him.

“How does it feel, Fenrir?” they asked.

For a moment the man said nothing, then a grin flashed across his face and he picked up his fallen glasses, replacing them on his face as he stood up. On the back of his right hand glowed a mark like several interlacing crescent moons.

He slid his hand through his hair, flashing Chaos Breaker a grin. “It feels great!”

“Good, because we have a job for you.” With a flick of their wrist, Chaos Breaker threw something in his direction, Fenrir catching the object before it hit him. “I’m sure it won’t be to much trouble. Feel free to fight whomever you like, just don’t fail.”

Turning the card over, a wicked grin split across his face. “Oh, I think I’m going to enjoy this assignment. And I know exactly who I’m going to take out first.”

 

Jamie shuddered he turned his gaze to the sky, watching as clouds began to gather above them, the air filled with a heavy rumbling. Then, light began to pierce through the clouds as a massive figure appeared.

The dragon that descended from the sky was like an angel, shimmering white with wide, feathered wings and a blazing sword clasped in its massive hands. Except that it was far more of a demon than an angel and Jamie could only fear what was to come.

“Fall now into silence.”

A chill ran down his spine as he looked up at the great beast, the thing he’d fought against to keep it from coming after Shion. Ultima it had been called, the Zeroth Dragon of United Sanctuary.

‘ _I’m sorry amigo,_ ’ he thought, watching as it raised the giant sword above its head before plunging it into the ground. ‘ _I couldn’t stop it._ ’

Shockwaves rippled out like an almighty earthquake and he fell, thrown off balance as everything around him shook.

Closing his eyes, Jamie threw his arms over his head and prayed, as the world around him seemed to erupt in a cacophony of endless noise.

 

Somewhere, deep within the remains of Relics, Chrono’s body stirred.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not even done chapter 3 yet but fuck it have chapter 2.

Gyze was stirring again; Chrono could feel it and it worried him. Most of the time the deity didn’t seem to do much of anything, it was just sort of there, a constant presence around him. But every now and then it would become active, shifting and moving around him in what Chrono could only describe as excitement. And if Gyze was excited it couldn’t be because of anything good.

“Can you feel it?” asked Gyze, voice rumbling in Chrono’s head, as nothing he did could block the sound out. “My Zeroth Dragons are awakening at last!”

Zeroth Dragons, he’d heard of those from Kazuma while they’d been trapped in Relics. If they were waking then that couldn’t mean anything good for his friends.

Chrono shuddered as the darkness moved in around him, tighter and tighter, trapping him firmly as Gyze rippled with excitement.

“Soon, very soon…”

 

Card Capital 2 was unusually quiet; Kazuma had his face buried in his arms as he sat at a table while Taiyou nervously looked through his deck again. After another attempt on Shion, one that had landed Jamie in the hospital for a few days, security on everyone was upped. No one could go anywhere alone, and Kazumi hadn’t let his little brother out of his sight for even a moment.

“Kazuma-san?”

Kazuma’s head shot up at the sound of Taiyou’s voice, having been beginning to nod off.

“They’re going to find Chrono,” he said, clasping his deck tightly between his hands. “Everyone’s searching, they’re going to find him.” He looked down at the table and his hands, growing quiet. “They have to.”

“We should be out there too,” said Kazuma. “Shindou’s our teammate, we should be the ones looking for him. Not just, sitting here being useless.”

“I know but…” Taiyou looked around the shop; they were more than protected in there with Kazumi sitting at another table close by and Kamui, Misaki and Miwa also lingering around. “You know we can’t go anywhere.”

Kazuma clenched his hand tightly, gritting his teeth together in frustration. “I can’t just sit around here doing nothing.” He stood up abruptly, slamming his hands onto the table, causing Taiyou to jump and almost drop his cards in surprise.

“K-Kazuma-san I don’t think-” Kazuma didn’t wait to hear the rest of what Taiyou had to say, already striding towards the door.

There was a squeak of a chair and Kazumi was on his feet, racing after Kazuma. “Kazuma!”

“I can’t sit around any longer, not while Chrono’s missing, not while they’re doing god only knows what to him,” he said. “He’d do the same for us!”

“And what if something happens to you?” Kazumi’s hand closed around his wrist, pulling him back as he reached the door. “How will you help Chrono if something happens to you? What good will you be to him then? This isn’t the time to be reckless.”

Kazuma shuddered, head bowed as he stood there. “But we have to do something,” he said, voice cracking. “We can’t just do nothing.”

“And we will,” said Kazumi. “I promise, but you can’t just charge out recklessly. Not with the Apostles roaming about. You could get hurt or…” he trailed off and shook his head. “Please, we’ll save Chrono, I promise. Everyone’s working to find him. But for right now, you have to trust us.” Kazumi relaxed his grip and Kazuma let his hand fall to his side loosely. “Please. I don’t want anything to happen to you, not again.”

“We’re going to get him back, Kazuma-san,” said Taiyou. “I know we will.”

 

Human bodies were so unusual, thought Gyze as he looked down at Chrono’s-his, hands. For one thing they were so tiny, this body was smaller than one of his claws. What was more, it had no armour to speak of and no scales, no claws to fight with or horns. Or fangs he realized, as he ran his tongue experimentally across his teeth. How did humans live like this, all squishy and vulnerable?

Well, that wasn’t going to be a concern for long.

He tilted his head, golden-eyes sweeping around the room. Gastille was perched comfortably on the couch with Chaos Breaker sprawled out across the majority of it. Darkface was furiously typing away at the computer, occasionally coming over to poke and prod him before rushing back to his computer. He’d been doing this since Gyze had woken up, muttering something about ‘vitals’.

Dumjid and Gredora weren’t around anymore, having been sent back to Cray after some embarrassing losses at the hands of humans.

Valeos and Fenrir weren’t around either, but for very different reasons. They couldn’t be in the same room without Fenrir trying to fight Valeos, having become upset upon learning about Altmile’s defeat at Valeos’ hands. Keeping them apart was the only way to keep them from killing each other.

“Soon…”

“Gyze-sama?” Darkface turned back from his computer, spinning around in the chair to look at Gyze, who had stood up abruptly. “Is everything alright? All your vitals seem to be in normal human range this is a new body and-” Gyze held a hand up, cutting him off abruptly.

“It is time,” began Gyze, deep voice filling the room despite the lack of movement from his vessel’s mouth. “Time we began our onslaught upon this world and silence it forever.”

A light glow shone from everyone's decks as Gyze held a hand out and cards materialized around him, the Zeroth dragons.

“Soon this world will fall into silence.”

 

Hands stuffed deep in his pockets, Kazuma trudged down the street, Kazumi following behind him like a self-appointed shadow. His brother had made it clear that he wasn’t going anywhere and wasn’t letting him out of his sight any time soon, not with the Apostles at large.

Kazuma opened his mouth to speak but stopped as his gaze was drawn skyward and he came to an abrupt halt.

The once blue sky had begun to change colour, gaining a strange violet hue, and as the clouds began to part, the source of the colour became clear. High in the sky, seemingly right above them, was another planet.

“What…what is that?” asked Kazuma, eyes wide as he stared up at the sky. “Why is that there?”

From behind him he heard the telltale buzzing of Kazumi’s cell phone and the muffled sounds of speaking. Tuning out the conversation he looked around, why was no one else reacting to the sudden appearance of a giant planet in the sky? It was painfully hard to miss and yet, not a single person reacted, it was as if nothing had happened.

“Kazuma!” Kazumi’s hand came down on his shoulder and he jumped slightly.

“It’s not a good sign is it?” asked Kazuma, looking up at the sky.

“No, it’s not.”

 

Chris sighed as he started at the computer screens, he didn’t like these readings, not one bit. Shortly after Cray had appeared in the sky, energy signatures similar to those of Relics had appeared as well.

It was only a matter of time before Gyze made himself known.

Cracking his fingers Chris turned his attention back to the computers around him, time to see what he could do before everything went to shit.

 

Half way down the street Kazuma stopped, unable to believe what he was seeing, or rather, who he was seeing, standing before him.

“C-Chrono?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kazuma switching from 'Shindou' to 'Chrono' is 100% intentional


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up breaking up this last part cause the scene transition didn't work well within the same chapter. 
> 
> So, there's a 4th part. Whoops.
> 
> Also I think it was a missed opportunity in the show to not have Gyze at least attempt to rattle Chrono by talking about Kazuma and taunting him. Try to break his spirit this way.

Kazuma swallowed hard as he looked at the figure that stood in front of him, having seemingly come out of nowhere. It was impossible, and yet there he was standing in front of him.

“C-Chrono? But, I thought you were…” he trailed off as looked at Chrono, something was wrong, something was _off_.

“Kazuma stop! That’s not-” Kazumi was cut off as an invisible force stopped him, pushing backwards and away from Kazuma.

“Kazumi!” Kazuma spun around, looking from Kazumi to Chrono, and froze when his eyes met Chrono’s gold ones.

Gold.

His eyes weren’t their usual green, but an eerie, unsettling gold.

“What’s wrong, Kazuma?” asked “Chrono”, his voice flat as he looked at Kazuma. “I thought you’d be happy to see me?”

Kazuma shook his head, taking a step back, “No, no you’re not Chrono are you, you’re Gyze.”

The ghost of a smirk flitted across his face before vanishing. “Perceptive.”

“Give him back, give Chrono back,” growled Kazuma.

“And why would I do that? After all he is my Vanguard,” said Gyze. “If you want him back, you’ll have to fight me.”

“Fine, then I’m going to fight you and I’m going to get Chrono back.”

 

A ripple of energy ran through the darkness and Chrono was hit by a sickening feeling not unlike joy. The joy wasn’t his though, it was Gyze’s and it made his stomach knot and twist uncomfortably. What could make a creature of Destruction that happy?

As if hearing his thoughts the darkness parted as an image formed before him. It was Kazuma, standing opposite a cardfight table, deck in hand.

“No! Kazuma no!” Chrono lunged forward only to be pulled back by the shadow-like tendrils.

“This is all your fault you know.” Chrono watched as the image vanished, only to be replaced by, himself. “He wouldn’t be fighting if it weren’t for you. If you weren’t his friend, hadn’t met him, he wouldn’t be fighting right now.”

Chrono trembled, legs shaking under him and threatening to give out at any moment. His doppelganger continued talking, voice bleak and almost emotionless.

“All of your friends are fighting, fighting because of you.” The ‘other Chrono’ stepped to the side and Chrono watched as visions flashed before him; Shion, Tokoha, Jamie, Taiyou, they were all embroiled in fights against the Apostles, against Gyze’s forces.

Chrono shut his eyes; the Apostles were only there because of his actions, because of his connection between the two worlds. And his friends, they had gotten dragged into it now too, all because of him.

“You really should just give up. After all, you can’t save them now. They’re fighting because of you, and they’re all going to die.”

As his doppelganger spoke shadows caressed Chrono’s cheeks like hands, almost mocking with how gentle they were, a contrast to the vicious sting of the words.

“It’s all my fault.” Chrono’s voice shook and cracked as a tear rolled down his cheek. “It’s all my fault.”

“You’re going to be all alone, and it’ll be just us, my Vanguard,” said the voice, deepening into Gyze’s recognizable rumbling.

 

It was unsettling, watching Gyze wander around wearing Chrono’s face. It looked like him, even sounded like him (if Chrono had lost nearly all ability to show emotion), except it wasn’t him.

“You fight so hard to save someone who doesn’t want to be saved,” said Gyze, resting his cheek in the palm of one hand, waiting for Kazuma to take his turn.

Kazuma hesitated, hand hovering over his deck in mid-draw. “What are you talking about?”

“Just that, Chrono doesn’t want to be saved, so really you’re fighting for nothing. And really, can you win if he can’t be saved?”

“You’re lying!” shouted Kazuma. “I’m going to beat you and I’m going to save him.”

“Or really? Are you sure about that? Why don’t you take a look for yourself?”

Everything seemed to vanish around him and Kazuma found himself standing in a dark, endless void.

“Hey, what are you doing? What is this?” he asked, spinning around.

“Ka-zuma?” A quiet voice sounded from somewhere and Kazuma stopped, turning towards the sound of the voice. It was Chrono, surrounded by a swirling mass of shadow. “What, what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to get you back, to bring you home!”

“S-stay back!” shouted Chrono, voice panicked and sharp as Kazuma started walking towards him. “Don’t come any closer!”

“Chrono…”

“This is all my fault, none of this would be happening if it weren’t for me,” said Chrono, putting his head in his hands as he sunk to the ground, the shadows lapping at him like waves. “Everyone’s in danger and it’s my fault. You’re only involved because of me. Gyze is only here because of me.”

“Don’t you dare!” snapped Kazuma. “Don’t you dare give up on yourself like this! You didn’t give up on me, even though I had given up on myself, so don’t you dare give up now. And don’t you dare regret our meeting, you hear me?”

Slowly, Chrono raised his head, his weary gaze meeting Kazuma’s.

“If I hadn’t met you…who knows where I’d be right now. I don’t regret it happening for a moment, so don’t you dare regret it either, you hear me? Chrono!”

As Chrono opened his mouth to respond Kazuma felt himself being pulled back, the scene around him fading away.

“I’m going to save you, so don’t you dare give up!” cried Kazuma as Chrono vanished from in front of him, replaced by Gyze.

 

“Ka…zuma.” Chrono’s voice was soft as he stared ahead at where Kazuma had stood just moments before, calling out to him. It had been him, actually him, not some fake created by Gyze. He’d been there, and so close, Chrono wondered if he could have touched him had he reached out.

 

Kazuma panted, one hand gripping the edge of the table as he fought to keep his balance. Gyze had backed him into a corner with its overwhelming strength, if he didn’t do something soon it would all be over for him. He watched as Gyze bound another Zeroth dragon, his expression never wavering. How could someone remain so calm and stoic during a fight like this? Was Gyze really that confident that he’d win?

“You know, you really shouldn’t count Chrono out just yet,” said Kazuma. “He’s not the sort of guy who just gives up that easily. He wouldn’t even give up on me, even when I’d given up on myself. So I know he won’t give up on himself that easily.”

Gyze’s expression flickered for a brief moment before the mask of calm fell back over him, hiding any evidence to the contrary.

“And,” continued Kazuma, “You really shouldn’t be underestimating his friends. Right now they’re out there taking apart your Apostles one by one!” A smirk crossed Kazuma’s face as he reached for his deck, drawing a card as he took his turn. “And I’m going to send you back to where you came from and bring Chrono home!”

 

“He’s fighting for me, they’re all fighting for me.” Chrono balled his fists as he strained against the shadowy bindings that had begun to wrap around his arms and wrists, clenching his eyes shut. He couldn’t let Gyze win; he couldn’t let Gyze hurt his friends.

The shadows tightened around him, trying to pull Chrono back as he strained against them.

“Kazuma’s right, I can’t give up,” he said, taking a strained step forward. It felt like he was slogging through thick, heavy mud, barely able to move. As he moved it felt as if his legs were being pulled down, forcing him to remain in place.

“I won’t let you win, do you hear me Gyze? You. Won’t. Win!”

There was a resounding snap like someone had cut a rubber band that had been pulled tight, and Chrono felt an arm fly free, suddenly free from the shadows.

Lifting his head, Chrono saw it, a tiny spark of light somewhere in the distance. His heart leapt in joy at the sight and he stretched his arm out, reaching towards it as he strained against the bindings holding him back.

A horrible screeching sound filled the air and Chrono clutched his head in pain, unable to cover his ears and block the sound out. It made his head pound and he could feel the vibrations all the way down to his bones.

Chrono cried out as he dropped to the ground, pain searing through his body as the wailing increased around him.

Whatever was happening to Gyze was causing it pain; each howl and roar sounding even more agonized than the last. Gyze’s pain was slowly becoming his pain and it was becoming harder and harder for Chrono to keep his eyes open, harder to keep from blacking out.

“I can’t, not yet, not here,” he groaned, digging his fingers into his hair as he tried to pull himself back to his feet. “If I pass out…who knows what’ll happen.”

He fell again as another wave of pain rippled through him and then, silence. As if someone had hit the mute button everything suddenly went silent around him and the thing Chrono knew he was falling.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the last chapter.
> 
> Also the one that finally, really, lives up to the Kazuma/Chrono tag I gave this thing lol.  
> And where my playing fast and loose with established lore really comes into play.

Kazuma laced his fingers together with a sigh as he looked down at Chrono, chest rising and falling with each breath. It looked as if he were asleep, except he’d been that way in the several months since Gyze’s fall.

He’d thought that once they broke Chrono free of Gyze’s hold and sent the god packing to Cray that would be the end of it. Except it wasn’t.

 

_There was a horrible, ear splitting screeching sound as Gyze was forced from Chrono’s body and he stumbled backwards, thrown off balance from the force of it. There was a crack as the barrier keeping everyone out shattered and for a moment Chrono’s eyes cleared, gold giving way to green and a look of familiarity crossed his face as he looked at Kazuma. Then he fell, collapsing in a heap on the ground._

_“Chrono!” Kazuma screamed as he ran around the table to his teammate’s side. He was breathing, but he was unresponsive to Kazuma's voice._

 

Shion and Tokoha had said this was to be expected, the same thing had happened to the Apostle’s human vessels when they had been freed and the Diffride broken. Except they had woken up after a days. Chrono had been this way for almost three months.

‘ _You have to wake up,_ ’ he thought, lifting his head slightly.

“Kazuma-san?” Taiyou peered in the room. He looked at Chrono then back to Kazuma, who sat dutifully at Chrono’s side. “We’re going to go get lunch, would you like to come?”

Kazuma shook his head, “I’ll be fine.”

“Alright, I’ll bring you something to eat then,” said Taiyou with a nod. Kazuma had been visiting Chrono every day, at every available opportunity, just in case that was to be the day he would wake up.

‘ _I hope wherever you are Chrono you come back soon,_ ’ he thought, reaching out to touch Chrono’s hand lightly. He felt so useless just sitting there, unable to do anything to help wake Chrono faster. All they could do, the doctor’s had said, was to wait. He was going to wake up; it was just a matter of when.

Stretching his legs out, Kazuma was about to stand up when he felt something, like a sort of tug, on his hand. Looking down at their hands he noticed that the tips of Chrono’s fingers had hooked slightly around his.

 

 

The first speck of light among the darkness was a dingy, silver light, faint and distant. Without a second thought Chrono took off running towards it, one hand outstretched.

It seemed like he’d been in the darkness forever, wandering lost and alone.

And then suddenly he wasn’t alone, there was a faint glimmer of silvery light somewhere in the distance, a light that seemed almost to call to him. Maybe if he reached it he could finally get out from that endless darkness.

Chrono panted, placing a hand against his chest, it seemed every step he took sent a wave of emptiness washing over him, as if the light itself were sad, and yet he couldn’t stop walking towards it, even though it didn't seem to be getting any closer.

Chrono shivered and wrapped his arms around himself as a chill wafted over him.

Cold. Alone.

He clenched his eyes shut as he pressed on, someone was there and they needed him, it wasn’t right, he couldn’t just leave them alone, not if they felt like this.

When next he looked up the silvery glow seemed to have gotten larger, closer and he could see something curled up within it. There was someone, something there!

“H-hey is someone there?” he asked, reaching out towards it. “Are you ok? You’re nor hurt are you?”

The figure didn’t respond and as Chrono reached out to it he stopped as a faint sound came from the darkness behind him.

“…ono!”

Turning he saw another light, this one warm and soft, and growing steadily, almost pulsing.

“Chrono!”

His name, someone was calling his name from within the light! The voice called his name again and he felt a wave of warmth wash over him, so comforting and gentle. Bright and brighter the light shone till he had to close his eyes against it.

 

“Chrono! Chrono!”

 

Chrono’s eyes fluttered opened softly, his vision blurred and distorted. He could make out dark shapes above him and after blinking several times to clear his vision he made out the faces of, people he’d never seen before.

“Welcome back to us Shindou,” said one of them, a man in a white coat. “You’ve had a lot of people worried about you.”

 

The next while seemed to pass in a blur as doctors and nurses gave way to family and friends, everyone wanting their turn to see Chrono. 

Taiyou took it upon himself to fill Chrono in on everything he’d missed while he’d been out. The most surprising news he shared was that Ibuki was alive. It seemed that after Gyze and the Apostles had been sent packing, they discovered Ibuki, barely alive and flirting with death, but alive nonetheless, apparently having been released from wherever it was he’d been held.

He’d recovered faster than Chrono had and had been discharged some time ago, but Chrono couldn’t help but feel relived at the news.

 

“Oh man, it seems like I missed a lot,” said Chrono with a sigh.

“Well, you were out for almost three months,” said Taiyou.

“Yeah I know.”

“You know, Kazuma-san visited you almost every day. I think he was more worried than any of us.”

“He did?” Chrono looked towards the door, Kazuma had stepped out for a few minutes to grab them something to drink. “He never told me that.”

Taiyou nodded. “He said he wanted to be there when you woke up.”

“T-Taiyou!” A red-faced Kazuma sputtered as he stood in the door, drinks in hand. He thrust a drink into Taiyou’s hands before sitting down, a light blush painting his cheeks. “You didn’t have to tell him that.”

“Why not? Doesn’t seem like you were going to,” said Chrono. “And by the way, when did you start calling me by my first name?”

Kazuma, who’d just taken a sip from his drink, coughed and sputtered, nearly choking on the drink as his face turned an impressive shade of red.

“I just remembered, I promised Hiroki-kun and Saori-kun I’d help them with something!” said Taiyou, quickly standing up. “I’m sorry Chrono-san, I’ll see you later.”

Still coughing, Kazuma made a grab for Taiyou’s arm, but missed as he slipped out of the way and quickly darted from the room with a final wave.

As his coughing fit subsided, Kazuma stared down at his hands, his face almost as red as Chrono’s hair.

“So­–“ “I can stop if you want!” Kazuma cut in, still staring down at his hands. “Calling you by your first name, if it bothers you.”

“What? No, no it’s fine,” said Chrono quickly. “It doesn’t bother me. I was just surprised.” Kazuma lifted his head, giving Chrono an unsure look and he smiled back reassuringly. “It’s fine I swear. Actually I’m glad, I was beginning to think you’d be stuck calling me ‘Shindou’ forever. I mean come on, we’re teammates.”

Kazuma breathed a sigh of relief and silence fell again as he returned to contemplating his hands.

“So, did you really visit me every day?” asked Chrono.

“Well, not _every_ day,” said Kazuma. “But close enough.” He tightened his grip on the bottle in his hands. “Something Tokoha said worried me. She said that if the vessel dies while in a Diffride, both parties die. And since Gyze was destroyed I was worried it might work the other way around too, that you'd never wake up.”

“Well I’m still here,” said Chrono, shooting him a grin. “So, it was you I heard.”

“Huh?”

Chrono scratched the side of his face awkwardly. “Yeah I-I could hear someone calling my name when I was, out. I guess that was you then.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” said Kazuma. He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled something out, handing it to Chrono. “Your deck, I kept it for you. The doctors wouldn’t keep it in here.” He pressed the box into Chrono’s hands. “You can have it back now.”

"You held onto it for me?"

Kazuma nodded. "And I'm sorry, I tried to get rid of Gyze's card but...it just kept coming back."

Chrono looked down at his deck, his stomach knotting uncomfortably, so, Gyze was still in his deck then? "Thanks Kzauma, for keeping it safe. I'm glad."

 

Chrono waited till after Kazuma left for the day, for as much as they may have disliked it visiting hours did in fact end and Kazuma eventually had to go home, before he opened the box, removing his deck from it.

His deck felt almost unfamiliar as he held it in his hands, as if it wasn’t even his anymore. It almost felt tainted, having been used for so long by Gyze and he could practically feel the god’s touch lingering on it.

He turned over a card and felt his stomach knot at the sight of it, Chrono Dran. The unit looked different, fainter somehow and Chrono couldn’t help but to feel sick just looking at it.

‘ _Dran, I’m so sorry,_ ’ he thought, closing his eyes as tears burned at the corners of his eyes. Their bond was broken, severed forever and no amount of fights would fix it. In fact, he wasn’t even sure if Dran was still alive, not after what Gyze had done.

As he turned the next card he felt his blood run cold, Dragon Deity of Destruction, Gyze.

Unlike the Zeroth Dragons, whose cards had crumbled into nothingness and vanished, Gyze had not. It was still there, buried among his cards, tainting them with its vile nature. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to throw the card away, to tear it up, to burn it, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He couldn’t hurt it, couldn’t damage it despite everything Gyze had done and everything they stood for. Of course if what Kazuma said was true, it probably wouldn't have helped any.

With a heavy sigh he put the card back in, he didn’t want to look at it any longer.

 

That night as Chrono slept, he dreamt; he dreamt of a land ravaged by fighting that lay in ruin around him. Somewhere from among the rubble he heard it, crying. It was pitiful and he found himself running towards the sound before he could stop himself. Whoever or whatever was making the sound needed help. They sounded scared and hurt; they sounded how Chrono had felt for so long.

He grabbed a large rock and throwing his weight into it, pushed it aside with a groan.

A small creature lay curled in the rubble, its sleek, silver body shiny against the dull earth around it. It shifted and Chrono realized it was some kind of dragon, wings and tail pulled tightly to its slender body. Shifting rocks aside, Chrono knelt down and reached out to the crying dragon, slipping his hands under it as he picked it up. It lifted its head to look at him and Chrono froze, hands shaking as tiny red eyes met his gaze. Those red eyes, he’d never forget them and yet, here they were, staring back at him from a tiny, helpless form.

“Gyze?”

How, how was this possible, Gyze had been defeated hadn’t it? How could it be here, like this?

“Shindou Chrono.”

A soft voice broke the silence and Chrono looked up to see a large creature land in front of him. Its wings rattled in the wind and its normally pristine body was covered in scratches and streaks of something silver. He wondered if that was what its blood looked like.

“Harmonics Messiah!”

Messiah tilted its head slightly as it looked down at Chrono and the small Gyze in his arms and instinctively he held it closer, as if concerned that harm might come to it.

“I don’t understand, what’s happening?” asked Chrono. “I thought Gyze was defeated, so why…?” he trailed off, looking down at the dragon in his arms. “Why is it still here, and like this?”

“It is the nature of our being,” said Messiah. “We cannot truly die, as Creation and Destruction we balance each other out. We can be sealed, wounded, broken,” it held a wing out as if gesturing to itself as an example. “-and driven away, but we cannot be truly destroyed. What you hold now, is what Gyze has become, has been reborn as.”

Gyze made another pathetic sound and Chrono felt something inside him twinge as he looked at the creature, so weak and helpless now. For a moment, all he wanted to do was protect it despite all it had done.

He remembered the darkness and the weak silver glow, the glow that seemed to emanate sadness and loneliness and concealed something within.

“I see that was you wasn’t it?” he asked, placing a hand on its head. "You were lost in the darkness too, and even more scared than me."

Messiah extended a hand towards Chrono, placing it gently on his head, “Can I entrust you to look after this one?”

“I don’t understand,” said Chrono.

Messiah sighed, “We are a balance that must always exist, but this endless fighting, it cannot be allowed to continue. We cannot doom anymore of Cray’s people with our war. It will only drive everything to ruin.” She gestured to the world around her, barren and in ruin, scarred by the war that had torn it apart months before. “And you, Shindou Chrono, whether you like it or not, are and will remain something that had never happened before, Gyze's Vanguard. Perhaps your influence will help prevent this atrocity from happening again.”

“How? Isn’t Gyze, evil?” asked Chrono as he moved to sit on the ground.

“In truth, we are neither good nor evil, we simply, are. Creation and Destruction, two sides of the same force. We are no more evil or good than life and death, day and night, light and dark. But, we can be influenced, twisted and corrupted.”

He looked down at the small dragon again, Gyze having grown quiet as it curled up in his arms. The trembling and the crying had ceased and in fact it simply seemed to be sleeping now. “So, you think my influence on Gyze, by being its Vanguard, will keep it from causing, this?”

“It is my hope,” said Messiah with a nod. “There is no way to no for sure. But you have a connection to this world like no other, and the two of you share a unique bond.”

Chrono ran his fingers along its spine gently, it wasn’t trembling any more and the scared feeling seemed to have vanished as well. He wanted to hate the thing, to send it away and be done with it forever, after all it had cause him and his friends so much pain.

And yet, as he looked down at the tiny, fragile looking creature in his arms, he couldn’t. Helpless, scared and alone, there was just no way he could cast it aside. He wasn’t even sure if this Gyze was the same as the one he hated, the one that had hurt him.

A lump formed in his throat and he held it close, no one should ever have to be alone like that and feel scared. Not even this creature.

“Don’t worry, you’re not alone now,” he said. “Not anymore.”

 

For a few moments after he awoke, Chrono stared up at the ceiling, a strange sense of peace settling over him. It wasn’t till he brought his hand to his face to wipe his eyes that he felt the tears that stained his cheeks.

‘ _Tears? Was I crying?_ ’ It was strange, why would he be crying? Then as soon as the thought hit him, the dream suddenly came rushing back to him and he quickly reached for his deck. His hands shook as he pulled out the one card he didn’t want to look at, Dragon Deity of Destruction, Gyze. Then, right before his eyes it changed. The image of a great and terrifying god was gone, replaced by the tiny creature he’d seen in his dream.

Neon Gyze.

“Looks like I really am stuck with you after all. I guess, this is a new beginning for both of us then huh?” he asked.

Maybe Messiah was right, and this time, things would be different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I actually had a large chunk of this part actually written/planned BEFORE GZ ended, specifically the Chrono meeting Messiah bit and how Messiah and Gyze, function. And then the ending happened and pretty much invalidated that, so I said 'it's an AU already I do what I want' and kept my changes in anyways.   
> Cause I'm a sucker for things like light and dark, creation and destruction not being inherently evil OR good, but a balance that exists, one cannot exist without the other(if you've read my Arc V Barian AU you'll know I used this concept there as well).
> 
> Also I happened to see a picture of Neon Gyze after it was announced (but before we knew what it did and before it appeared in show) and I just, it's a cute little bugger despite being a big old god of destruction, I HAD to do something with it.

**Author's Note:**

> I needed someone to wield the United Sanctuary Z. Dragon, and lore wise there was really only two from that Nation who would willingly side with Gyze, and Kanzaki already flung off that attempt, so I was left with Shinonome and Fenrir. 
> 
> I initially wanted to have Fenrir target Shion (being Altmile's Vanguard and all) but, Shion already get beaten by Valeos once and I didn't want to hurt him again(two painful losses, ouch).


End file.
